CSR Communication from a Public Relations Perspective

Abstract

This chapter provides a roadmap on how public relations perspectives have contributed to corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication research. In defining CSR, public relations scholarship has emphasized the inclusion of stakeholder expectations and the aspects of relationships and alignments between organizations, stakeholders, and the society. Public relations scholarship has developed its own unique hybrid instrumental approaches to CSR communication. In doing so, it has widened the scope of emphasis to intangible and long-term public outcomes of organization-public relationships such as stakeholder pressure and expectations, trust and engagement, and stakeholder feedback and dialogue. In recent years, a notable trend is the increased influence of public relations theories and concepts on CSR scholarship. By bridging theories and concepts from multiple disciplines, public relations scholarship contributes to the interdisciplinary nature that characterizes CSR research. It has facilitated interdisciplinary theory-building and bridged different though related CSR theories and concepts. Public relations scholarship also contributes to a broadening of CSR research scope through the extension of the CSR concepts’ applicability beyond profit-organization and consumer stakeholder groups: It extends to include non-profit and government organizations as well as community members, employees, activists, and so forth.